Graduates: Amy's Story
Amy studied on our undergraduate degree program and graduated in 2019. She now works to support young people in further education in Northern Ireland. Hey Amy, it’s good to hear your story. I’d love to know - some people say they feel really called to study theology. What was it like for you? I guess it had always been something I had thought about. But to be honest, I was a bit hesitant about applying; I didn’t even tell anyone I was going to
Graduate Internships
We are excited to offer a range of internships at Belfast Bible College to give graduates an opportunity to gain skills and experience to help with their vocational development. Particularly the in the context of Christian Ministry and Higher Education. Communications, Film Making & Graphic Design Residential Assistant for Student Accommodation About the Programme Apply What type of internship could you apply for? Here are a few options: Communications,
Announcing our New Principal
Today Belfast Bible College announced the appointment of a new Principal, Rev. James Burnett. Having read Theology at Oxford University and Politics, Economics and Philosophy at Queen’s University, Belfast and Cambridge University, Rev Burnett is currently the minister of Lowe Church Belfast and comes with considerable experience of Christian service – in leadership, teaching, pastoral ministry and mission activity. Commenting on his appointment Dr Norman Morrow, Chair of the Coll
Church Leaders' Survey 2022
Northern Ireland has over 1,000 churches from many different denominations. Each of these churches faces different issues according to their specific contexts. Belfast Bible College is committed to providing theological education for 21st-century disciples from across all denominations. We want to encourage followers of Jesus to live out their faith with wisdom, a deep knowledge of the Bible, and a personal relationship with Him. To ensure that our tr
QAA Action Plan
Belfast Bible College always aims to provide our students with the best environment in which to study, learn and grow. As part of this we go through assessment with QAA. If you would like to read more about the Colleges QAA report then please click on the links below and if you have any further questions then please get in touch with the office. Click here to view Belfast Bible Colleges QAA report on their homepage Click here to view Belfast Bible College Action Plan October 2021
News Release about the Principal
News Release The Principal of the Belfast Bible College, Dr Helen Warnock, has announced this week that she is coming to the end of her time leading the College. Helen strongly believes that God is calling her to another sphere of work and ministry but will be remaining in post until February 2022. Helen joined as Principal in December 2016 and has led the College with vision and purpose for the last five years. During her time at the College the MA Theology program
Abraham in Genesis 22: Model or Monster?
Abraham in Genesis 22 – Model or Monster?1 'God has told me to kill my son!' How would you respond if someone told you that? On a practical level you would probably seek immediate help for the speaker (and their son) to avoid a disaster. On a theological level you would almost certainly think that the speaker is wrong – God wouldn't ask such an immoral thing! How, then, do we read and use a passage in the Bible where it appears that God does just t
Serving God in a Foreign Land
Daniel's Faithful Improvisation in the Court of the Babylonian King In his famous list of the OT heroes of faith, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews makes the following claim: ‘All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been
The Mission of the Church in a Post-conflict Context: A Reflection on Reformed and Anabaptist Approaches among Christians in Northern Ireland
My Masters dissertation focused on the core purpose of the Church, as it applies to our post-conflict and still intractably divided community in Northern Ireland. Twenty-Two years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland public and their political representatives appear to have settled for ‘an end of violence’ and protracted division of the two main communities, each with its own separate culture. The Church in Northern Ireland has, in the main
Seeds. Season 2
Seeds. has returned for a second season, focusing on personal encounters with Jesus. Seeds. is a weekly series of stories about the interesting and diverse people who study, work for & visit the College. These stories of encounters with Jesus are created with the hope of sharing the work of God through personal testimonies of real people. Tommy Karla Underneath it all, whether we are Christian or not, we have all been there - when w
Theological Thoughts
Our Theological Thoughts series is posted on our social media (Facebook & Instagram) on a regular basis. This is where we ask readers to pause for a couple of minutes to consider a thought written by one of our lecturers that will make them think a little bit deeper about their faith. 10 Commandments of Theological Study by Dr. William Ford 1. I shall remember that my relatio
The Groaning of Creation (Romans 8:18) and Contemporary Christian Attitudes to Climate Change
‘Climate change’ is a modern problem which is not addressed specifically in the Bible. However, the doctrine of creation was central to the biblical authors’ understanding of the world and consequently Scripture is peppered with relevant references that can guide modern Christian attitudes to the environment. Some Christians hold that the Earth is only a temporary home which will ultimately be destroyed but such a stance can make believers ‘careless stewards’ (Orr,
Charlie's new publications
We're delighted to share that our Old Testament and Hebrew Lecturer Dr. Tchavdar Hadjiev (Charlie) has had two significant academic books recently published. These are wonderful resources to Church Leaders and Academics alike. It is a wonderful testament of Charlie's deep study and brilliant teaching that these books are widely available and we pray the Church would be blessed through them. They are both available through our library to our students as well as widely available f
Bias and Biblical Faithfulness: Becoming Self-Aware Readers of Scripture
Many of us spend a lot of time reading the Bible. It is a core tenet of living out our faith. The triune God has revealed Himself to us through His Word and, therefore, it demands our attention. Not only that, but it demands our best efforts to faithfully understand what it means. Because the text is revelatory and divinely inspired it has an authority (Goldingay, 1995, 3). More than that, a genuine engagement with it should transform us and provide us with a perspective for how to live as faith
Changing Context: An Interview with Karen Webb
ANGLICAN CHURCHES IN THE GREATER SHANKILL ROAD AREA AND THEIR CHANGING CONTEXT Peter McDowell: Karen, you’re very welcome to this conversation. Could you tell a little bit about yourself, who you are, what you are doing and then perhaps why did you apply to do this MA course? Karen Webb: I am a Church Army evangelist. Church Army are a group of evangelists across the UK and Ireland and I am the lead evangelist in the North Belfast area. I’m married to Tim. He’s a jou
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Spiritual Abuse: Making Churches a Safer Place
‘Abuse in any form is a serious problem…not least for the church’ (Ozanne, 2017, 1). This is the unfortunate reality. Abusive environments, both past and present exist. For the church, accepting that abuse can and does exist within these environments is a sobering, yet inevitable, reality. In recent years, the Church has worked hard implementing safeguarding policies and practises and this deserves to be celebrated. I would suggest, however, the Church has so much more to cont
Self-Awareness and Spiritual Development of Adolescents: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as a Possible Tool for Youth Ministry
YOUTH MINISTRY AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT Young people are masterfully and uniquely designed by the Creator who calls them beloved. Those within Christian youth ministry have the privilege to highlight these unique designs and to guide and encourage each young person on their journey. The potential is great for young people to grow spiritually when they understand the intricacies of how God created them. Amy Jacober (2014, 107) writes: [Youth ministers] play a vital role in celebrating t
Insight Magazine
Launched in January 2020 'Insight' is a digital magazine by Belfast Bible College filled with news, articles, updates on alumni and much more about the life and community of the College. If you would like to be added to the mailing list please click here. Issue 4 - October 2020 Our biggest issue of the magazine yet. Issue 3 - July 2020 We hope that the articles we have written this month help to shape your thinking on issues and he
God Sent His Son - Devotional
The reflections focus on five texts where the phrase, ‘God sent his Son,’ is used as a way of summarising the event of the first Christmas. This year we are suggesting that this devotional would be good to use after Christmas and before the New Year, to dwell and reflect on the significance of the incarnation.
COVID 19
COVID UPDATE 18 NOVEMBER 2020 In response to guidance from the NI Executive and UK Government all teaching and events by Belfast Bible College will be delivered online for the remainder of the semester. The campus remains closed to visitors during this time. If as a student you are experiencing difficulty accessing your online classes, college email or Moodle please contact IT on kward@belfastbiblecollege.ac.uk Should you have any questions regarding your studies, please email
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Insight Magazine
Keep Reading
Launched in January 2020 'Insight' is a digital magazine by Belfast Bible College filled with news, articles, updates on alumni and much more about the life and community of the College. If you would like to be added to the mailing list please click here.
Issue 4 - October 2020
Our biggest issue of the magazine yet.
Issue 3 - July 2020
We hope that the articles we have written this
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God Sent His Son - Devotional
Keep Reading
The reflections focus on five texts where the phrase, ‘God sent his Son,’ is used as a way of summarising the event of the first Christmas. This year we are suggesting that this devotional would be good to use after Christmas and before the New Year, to dwell and reflect on the significance of the incarnation.
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COVID 19
Keep Reading
COVID UPDATE 18 NOVEMBER 2020
In response to guidance from the NI Executive and UK Government all teaching and events by Belfast Bible College will be delivered online for the remainder of the semester. The campus remains closed to visitors during this time.
If as a student you are experiencing difficulty accessing your online classes, college email or Moodle please contact IT on kward@belfastbiblecollege.ac.uk
Should you have
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Hosting a Wisdom Lab.
How the wisdom labs will work? The material will be released during the week of the 17th August. When you sign up to be part of this, you will receive this resource via email. There will be four themes to engage with on four different days, each will consist of a video to watch (15-20 mins) and resource material consisting of questions to reflect on individually, discussion questions and suggested reading. The four themes are: LamentKeep Reading -
God, Pharaoh and Moses
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A God who sends plagues and hardens hearts?1
Arguably the greatest act of salvation in the Old Testament is the exodus from Egypt, recounted in the first fifteen chapters of the book of Exodus. However, the means by which God brings about this deliverance seem deeply problematic. Not only does he inflict violence upon a whole nation (ten increasingly destructive plagues), but he also hardens the heart of Pharaoh, seemingly preventing him from
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Easter Devotional
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Thursday: Gethsemane
Read: Mark 14:32-42
Abba, Father, for you all things are possible …
On Thursday evening Jesus goes with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, just outside Jerusalem, and prays. Earlier that evening he had celebrated the Passover with his disciples using elements of the traditional meal to point ahead to his own impending and violent death. He had also predicted his betrayal by
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God Commanding Violence?
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At Christmas, we remember the birth of one described as the ‘prince of peace’. We read in the gospels how he taught us to turn the other cheek and love our enemies, before demonstrating this in an amazing display of love by dying on the cross. Elsewhere in the Bible, however, we come across passages that portray God in a rather different way: either commanding or carrying out acts of violence. How do we read and understand these passa
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CALLED TO...STAY AND SEND
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Jesus calls us to make disciples.
All of us, without exception, can follow Jesus’ command right where we live, in the context of our immediate surroundings. This could be in school, in the workplace, with our friends, or even in the privacy of our own home! Every church member can ask, “Where I am, and with what I’ve been given, how can I honour Christ in seeking to make disciples right here, right now? Local mission is neces
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Is Every Movie a Sermon?
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"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" (The Wizard of Oz, 1939)
We live in a world intelligently designed to communicate the attributes of our creator (Romans 1:20)
As much as we may try to ignore what’s behind the curtain, the entertainment we consume is no less intelligently designed to communicate a message from the mind of its creator to the consumer (that’s you and me). Nothing is mindless, and in its
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Jesus in The Lord of the Rings
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Jesus as the prophet can be seen in the character of Gandalf. Gandalf paints an applicable picture of both the biblical prophet and of Jesus the ultimate prophet. The wizard’s death, resurrection and transfiguration all point to Christ. Like Jesus, Gandalf comes with a message which calls others to respond, to live in hope for truth and goodness. Gandalf is seen as a fulfilment of a work that only he could bring to completion, echoing the u